Is the Mediterranean diet good for kids, too?

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN

Updated 0901 GMT (1701 HKT) February 1, 2017

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Photos:Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

The Mediterranean diet is easy to find in the grocery store, contains nutrients that are known to enhance longevity and has other health benefits that are backed by peer-reviewed, scientific studies. Broccoli makes the list because it's one of nature's most nutrient-dense foods, with only 30 calories per cup. That means you get a ton of hunger-curbing fiber and polyphenols -- antioxidants that detoxify cell-damaging chemicals in your body -- with each serving.

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Photos:Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Doctors suggest using olive oil rather than butter to make your meals. A Spanish study found a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events among patients with a history of heart disease.

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Photos:Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Quinoa is the popular whole-grain du jour because it also contains a good dose of protein to help build muscle. Yet including any type of whole grain in your diet -- from barley to brown rice -- will aid in weight loss by filling you up for fewer calories.

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Photos:Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Blueberries are often singled out as a kind of superfood because studies have shown they aid in everything from fighting cancer to lowering cholesterol. But all berries, including raspberries, strawberries and blackberries, contain antioxidants and phytonutrients. Worried about the price of fresh fruit? Experts say the frozen kind is just fine.

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Many dieters shy away from nuts because of their high calorie and fat count. But studies show that eating a handful several times a week can prevent heart disease and ultimately help you shed pounds since they fill you up and stop you from snacking on other things. Almonds, in particular, contain lots of monounsaturated fats and fiber. (Healthy swap: Replace peanut butter with almond butter.)

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Photos:Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Salmon is also a good source of lean protein. With this diet, doctors suggest eating fish at least two times a week. Salmon provides a high dose of omega-3 fatty acids, which studies show significantly lower the risk of heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids fight back by reducing inflammation and slowing the rate of plaque buildup in blood vessels.

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Beans, beans, the magical fruit; the more you eat, the more ... you lose weight. Black, kidney, white and garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) are good for fiber and protein. They fill you up and provide muscle-building material without any of the fat that meat can add to your meal.

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Eating a breakfast high in protein is a good way to keep hunger at bay throughout the day. Eggs are full of choline, a nutrient that helps block fat from being absorbed in the liver. Choline may also help in preventing memory loss.

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Spinach is a great source of iron, which is a key component in red blood cells that fuel our muscles with oxygen for energy. But researchers in Sweden identified another way in which these greens might keep you charged: Compounds found in spinach actually increase the efficiency of our mitochondria, the energy-producing factories inside our cells. That means eating a cup of cooked spinach a day may give you more lasting power on the elliptical machine (or in your daily sprint to catch the bus).

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Walnuts are packed with tryptophan, an amino acid your body needs to create the feel-great chemical serotonin. (In fact, Spanish researchers found that walnut eaters have higher levels of this natural mood-regulator.) Another perk: "They're digested slowly," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center. "This contributes to mood stability and can help you tolerate stress."

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Asparagus is one of the best veggie sources of folate, a B vitamin that could help keep you out of a mental slump. "Folate is important for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine," said David Mischoulon, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. All of these are crucial for mood.

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It's not a requirement to drink it on this diet, but if you do drink alcohol, red wine in moderate amounts can be good for your health. Moderation means one drink for women and two for men, by the way. Studies show red wine can help protect against heart disease.

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Story highlights

Children could thrive on a Mediterranean diet, with some caveats, one expert says

Children who consume a Mediterranean diet may be 15% less likely to be overweight

(CNN)Scientists have long touted the potential health benefits of a Mediterranean diet for adults, but can the diet offer benefits for little ones, too?

"There is no reason why a child could not thrive on a Mediterranean dietary pattern," said Rachel Johnson, a professor of nutrition and pediatrics at the University of Vermont.

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Though the diet also includes skim or low-fat dairy products, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children consume whole milk until age 2, Johnson said.

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Nuts are also included in the Mediterranean diet, but the academy considers whole nuts to be a high-risk food for choking and recommends caution for children under age 4, Johnson said. And, though the Mediterranean diet includes a modest amount of wine, alcohol is illegal to consume until age 21 in the United States.

With those caveats, however, how exactly might a Mediterranean diet benefit children's health? And how can parents get their kids eating Mediterranean? Here are some of the latest findings and tips from experts.

How a Mediterranean diet can be kid-healthy

For children, some studies suggest that the diet might be associated with a reduced risk for obesity, asthma and allergies; there might also be an association between not eating the diet and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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A Mediterranean-style diet was linked to a significant decrease in body mass index, fat mass and glucose levels in children with obesity in a small study in the journal BMC Pediatrics in 2014.

The study, which was conducted in Mexico, compared the health of 24 obese children who were assigned to eat a Mediterranean-style diet with 25 who were assigned to eat a standard diet over a 16-week period.

"These results further support the importance of introducing a Mediterranean-style diet to at-risk populations," the researchers wrote.

Another study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity that year, found that children who consumed a Mediterranean diet were 15% less likely to be overweight or obese than those children who did not.

Photos:Six ways to reduce allergy risk in kids

Photos:Six ways to reduce allergy risk in kids

More than 50 million people in the United States suffer allergies each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Snacking on nuts during the first year of life may reduce the risk of a nut allergy in children, studies show. Previously, parents of high-risk children had been advised to delay their introduction of peanuts.

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Some studies have linked certain objects or behaviors to the possible reduction of allergy risk. One new paper, for instance, suggests that children who suck their thumbs or bite their nails may have reduced risk of developing allergies.

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Many medical authorities, such as the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, recommend breast-feeding, as breast milk provides important vitamins and nutrients to an infant. Some research shows that breastfeeding for at least four to six months may strengthen a baby's immune system and, as a result, be helpful in avoiding allergies.

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Children's risk for developing allergies and asthma may be reduced when they are exposed to a pet, such as a dog or cat, in the household early in infancy. Researchers suspect that early exposure to certain pet allergens or bacteria might strengthen the immune system.

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Research suggests that exposure to air pollution during the first year of a child's life increases the risk of developing allergies to food, mold, pets and pests. Therefore, fresh air might help in avoiding sensitivity to allergens.

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What a woman eats during pregnancy may reduce allergy risk in her child. Some studies show that a diet rich in vitamin D, such as milk, eggs or mushrooms, is associated with a reduced risk of the baby developing allergies.

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Other studies have explored how a Mediterranean diet might be associated with reduced asthma and allergy symptoms in children. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet tended to be associated with a lower occurrence of wheezing and asthma in a 2013 paper in the journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

For that paper, researchers analyzed seven epidemiological studies on Mediterranean-like diets and asthma symptoms that were published between 1960 and 2012.

"The results of the present meta-analysis show that adherence to a Mediterranean diet during childhood is a protective factor for 'current wheeze' and 'asthma ever,' but not for 'severe current wheeze' when considering all studies together," the researchers wrote in the paper.

Additionally, a study of 695 children found that those whose mothers took fish oil supplements in the third trimester of pregnancy had a reduced risk -- by about 7 percentage points -- for wheezing, asthma or lower respiratory tract infections. The study was published last year in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Fatty fish is a regular part of the Mediterranean diet.

A small study published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday suggests that eating less of a Mediterranean diet -- meaning fewer vegetables, fruits and fish, but more junk food -- might be associated with a 7.07-fold higher risk of ADHD diagnoses in children.

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"The mechanisms linking low-quality diet and ADHD are still unknown, but an unbalanced diet can lead to deficiencies in essential nutrients, such as iron, zinc, magnesium or omega-3 fatty acids, which contribute to healthy cognitive and physical growth," said Maria Izquierdo-Pulido, a food science and nutrition researcher at the University of Barcelona in Spain and a co-author of the study.

Those nutrients also seem to play an essential role in the development of ADHD, she said.

Yet other experts remain dubious that the new study provides support for the idea that a Mediterranean diet might play a role in ADHD development.

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"I have no special tips for parents who want their kid with ADHD to go on the Mediterranean diet, because there is no reason to believe that such a diet is going to be any more helpful for alleviating their ADHD symptoms than any basically sound diet," said Thomas Brown, adjunct clinical associate professor at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine and director of the Brown Clinic for Attention and Related Disordersin Hamden, Connecticut. He was not involved in the new study.

"The hypothesis that those with ADHD would be less adherent to the Mediterranean diet is puzzling because it is well-known that, as a group, those with ADHD tend to be less adherent to many tasks and routines they are asked to do," Brown said. "ADHD is essentially an inherited problem with the brain's self-management system."

How to get your child to eat 'Mediterranean'

For parents who would like to introduce a Mediterranean diet into their children's daily eating routine, Dr. Carolina Vidal, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine, offered a few tips.

"Slowly introduce fruits and vegetables, and present them consistently with the other foods they eat. Cutting out sugars and fast food meals and make those sporadic as opposed to a regular meal or snack is very helpful," she said. "Sitting to eat with them and serving as a role model is the best way to introduce a Mediterranean diet."

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"Exposure to foods leads to a preference for those foods," she added. "It can take up to 12 to 15 exposures to a new food for a child to develop a preference for that food. Ask your child to taste the food, and don't give up too soon."